Unforeseen Consequences
by Literally Every Name is Taken
Summary: A stranger comes to Hertfordshire. What will his presence mean for the town? Probably nothing good if I had to guess, but what do I know? I'm only the author. Please leave a review so I know what you're thinking or feel free to message me.
1. Chapter 1

(For those who care, I've decided to rewrite everything. I'm going to take down the previously upload chapters for now. I'm trying to make them a little longer and there were a some other changes I wanted to make. I don't know how long it might take me to get back to where I ended. Like anybody I've got other things going on. On top of that I'm fairly lazy. Still, I've been more then surprised that anyone has even cared about this story. I've wanted to write something like this for a while and the fact that others are even mildly interested in it has made finally doing it that much more rewarding, so thanks. That's all for now I guess.)

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Thomas Tripp was a man of good fortune. He was young and handsome enough. His mannerisms were, what some might say, of the strange sort. But he would have made a fine husband for many of the young ladies in Hertfordshire. Marriage, however, could hardly have been farther from Thomas's mind. Instead he was more concerned of the days ahead of him and of the people he would meet.

Thomas had purchase Purvis Lodge and had been anxious to settle were many houses for sale around Meryton that Thomas could have purchased. But there was something about Purvis Lodge that he liked. The house itself was nice enough, though the attics were horrible, something Thomas could latter often be heard complaining of. The attorney for the estate was a little surprised that Thomas wanted to purchase the estate out right, but the owner was more than ready to be rid of the place and a deal was quickly met.

To help him break in the home, Thomas had invited both his brother and sister to come and stay with him for some time. His sister was very excited to come as a ball was soon to be held in Meryton. This ball Thomas jokingly called "The Bingley Ball". Julia Tripp, Thomas's sister, although already 19 and the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tripp, had never enjoyed the opportunity of attending a ball. "The Bingley Ball" would be her first. She, however, didn't enjoy Thomas's name for the ball. But Thomas assured himself that his she didn't know funny.

His Brother, James Tripp, responded as well. But unlike the long message Thomas received from his sister, James's read simply "Sure, I have nothing better to do." After receiving responses from both siblings, Thomas wondered if he had made a mistake in inviting the two. While he did not necessarily shy from attention, he also did not desire it. His brother and sister had a way of bringing attention to themselves and their family. He decided he would talk with both of them when they arrived and make sure they behaved. After all, the days ahead were to be fun and exciting times. He didn't want them mucking it all up.

After the house had been furnished, Thomas decided he would take a walk around and meet the servants. He was fortunate to have kept the servants from the previous owner. This was fortunate because he was unsure of how one would go about hiring new ones. "The newspaper?" he thought. But it was of no walked around the back of the house where he saw an older gentleman on one knee picking some flowers from the garden. He called to the man "Hello there."

On this, the man took notice of Thomas and stood up. "Sir?"

"Yes, I am the new owner of the house. I thought I might come around and meet everyone."

"Ah, a good thought" The gentleman talked without much emotion but Thomas attributed this to the man being old.

"Well, my name is Thomas Tripp, and yours?"

"Jones, sir."

"Well, it's good to meet you Jones. Is the garden where I can usually find you?"

With the previous owner, Jones had been in charge of the kitchen. But he thought he might like a change."Yes, I tend to the garden." As Jones finished another man walked out the back of the house holding a trowel. Jones continued, "And that is Henry. He's in charge of the kitchen."Henry was not in charge of the kitchen. Henry took care of the garden. He realized what had just happened and peered back at the old man whose usual emotionless disposition was betrayed by a thin smile. Jones walked up to Henry and took the trowel from him. "Thank you, I was wondered where I left that."

Henry, who had yet to blink, was staring down Jones. Thomas sensed something was going on between the two men but he didn't have the faintest idea."So, you're in charge of the kitchen then?" he asked Henry.

Henry turned to face him, before looking back at the old man. "Yes, I'm in charge of the kitchen" He said reluctantly and with a bit of scorn.

Thomas looked at both men. He was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. "Great." He stated before quickly moving back inside. While headed in the direction of the drawing room, Thomas came upon another one of his servants. This one was a young lady who was busy replacing candles around the house."Ah, hello there." on hearing his voice, the woman turned to face Him. "My name is Thomas Tripp, I am the new owner. I thought I might walk around the house and meet everyone."

"Well, sir, you can call me Hill. You can usually find me tiding up around the house. I can also be found helping Mr. Jones in the kitchen…"

"Henry." Thomas interrupted her.

"Hmm?"

"You mean Mr. Henry, Jones works in the garden."

Hill had been at Purvis Lodge long enough to know that Jones worked in the kitchen. But she was not one to disagree with her employer."Okay."

Thomas couldn't help but feel like he said or did something strange. He was starting to feel uncomfortable again. All his servants seemed a bit strange, or at least they acted so. But he tried to put it out of his mind.

After all, he had more important things to worry about. He knew that the days ahead were going to be exciting ones. In less than a week, a ball would be held in the town of Meryton. Thomas had been invited and, while he was grateful, he knew that most of his neighbors wouldn't care whether he came or not. No, they were more interested in another newcomer. A young man of at least 5,000 a year had rented Netherfield Park. His arrival allowed Thomas to slip into town without much fuss from his neighbors. This man's name was Bingley. With him would come other newcomers who would hold the attention of the town. Thomas's presence would hardly be noticed.

This is how he had wanted it. He did not desire to have the eyes of the town on him. If they knew his actual circumstances then the situation would be much different. As it currently was, Thomas was seen as a moderately wealthy man without many connections in society. This was not true. In fact this information was derived from a rumor Thomas himself had spread. A much easier task than he had anticipated. The town was full of gossips and word moved faster than stage coach. But he figured as long as no one thought he was important, then he would elude any trouble that might otherwise arise.

After leaving the servant, Thomas grabbed a book from his study and headed towards the drawing room. He would have liked to have read the book in the study but the room wasn't getting enough light from the window as Thomas couldn't get the blinds to stay open and the servants had yet to replace the candles in the room. That is to say, there were none.

When he arrived in the drawing room, Thomas grabbed the most comfortable looking chair and started reading his book. It was a medieval tale. It had a princess that was actually a dragon, a dragon that was actually a princess, and 4 characters named Phillip, each one spelled differently. After about an hour had passed, Thomas called for Hill. She entered the room and asked what he needed.

"Hill, bring me some tea." To Thomas's surprised, Hill seemed very excited to fulfill his request. After nodding quickly, she ran from the room and headed towards the kitchen. Thomas wondered what could be so exciting about tea. He returned to his book while he waited. He had just gotten to the part where Philep had discovered another man of remarkable similarity had taken his place as lead jouster. That's when Hill returned with his came in the room a bit odd, Thomas thought. She walked proud and carried a very satisfied look on her face. Thomas could only guess as to what this means."Must be proud of her tea." He thought.

He decided he didn't really care too much about it and took the tea, set it down beside him, and continued reading his book. Philep and Pillip were preparing to joust over who deserved to be the lead jouster. Philep had dismounted Pillip and the crowd was cheering. But, as the fallen knight rose, he could see a dark shape approaching the town. It was the ferocious dragon Helga. Pillip looked at the other knight and he looked back at him. They knew what they must do. It was then that Thomas looked up from the book and noticed that his servant was still standing over him. She was staring at him. She seemed to be trying to indicate something with her eyes. Thomas looked where she seemed to be focusing on and realize that she wanted him to drink the tea. Thomas wanted her to leave so he grabbed the cup and took a big sip.

"Wow," he thought to himself "this is the worst tea I've ever tasted. How could it be this bad?" He tried to hold in the tea was so bad that Thomas couldn't force himself to swallow it. He had to spit it out. But he couldn't with his servant standing over him watching his every movement, looking for any sort of had to be careful. He thought himself a decent enough man and he had no desire to embarrass his servant just because she had made some horrific tea. But he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold the tea in. So he kind of smiled and nodded, hoping that would be good enough for Hill and she would leave. It wasn't, still she stayed, her head a bit crooked now as if his attempt to satisfy her only confused her. He had to think of something fast, he was quickly running out of time.

Suddenly, Thomas saw his out. Through the corner of his eye he spotted a carriage coming along the road. He doubted it was coming to Purvis, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by him. He quickly straightened himself in the chair and turned his head towards the window. His movement was not unlikely that of a cat whose attention is taken by a sudden noise.

His quick movement inspired a similar reaction in the servant who was now also looking through the window at the carriage. Thomas knew this was his only chance. He quickly spit the tea back in the cup and stood up and headed for the door to the room. Hill had hardly looked away from the window by the time Thomas was halfway through the door.

"Very good, Hill, thank you." Thomas stated as he retreated to the front yard. He headed outside with the tea still in hand. Upon exiting the front door, he noticed Jones rummaging around in a pretty flower patch. He seemed to be ripping a lot of the flowers out of the decided to go check on Jones. But first he dumped the tea on the ground near him. It was then that he saw Hill in a window watching him. She was fluffing a couch pillow and saw him dump the tea. Thomas didn't know what to do, so he just turned around and continued on to Jones. He would try to pretend that had not happened.

"Jones" Thomas stated as he neared the old man. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, uh, just removing these dead flowers from the garden, sir."

"I can see that, but don't you know that these flowers are annual? They will come back next year."

Jones did not know that. In fact he hardly knew anything about gardens or gardening. Henry would have known that, but he was now attached to the kitchen."Of course, you're right. I just thought we might try something different here."

That was a lie.

"Okay." Thomas replied. "Well, I just thought I'd tell you that I was going in to town. So, if anyone comes asking for me you can tell them I went there."

"Should I call for the carriage, sir?"

"No, it's a nice day. Meryton is not too far from here, is it? I think I'll just walk it."

"Oh, no I guess not." The servant replied.

Jones was not one to disagree with his employer. After all, he thought Thomas looked fit enough and he was still young. He was sure he could make it. What is eight miles of good road anyways?


	2. Chapter 2

Thomas had been walking for about an hour, he was anxious to finally arrive in Meryton. It was not the first time he'd been there. He rode through once before but he did not have much time to look around. He did see a few shops he wanted to check out. Mainly though, and Thomas thought this very strange, it was hat stores. He had never seen so many hat stores in one place. He was surprised that they could thrive selling hats almost exclusively. He thought he might look in one, thinking only of his sister of course.

It was around this time that Thomas noticed a carriage up ahead. It seemed to be parked along the side of the road. Thomas could see no houses, at least none close enough to warrant stopping here. Looking closer, he saw that the car was not parked, but stuck. It was hard to spot from a distance, but as he got closer he could see a fallen tree lying in the path. Two men were standing outside the carriage talking. One was the driver and the other, an older man, he assumed was a passenger. The younger man noticed him and waved him over.

Thomas spoke as he came near them "Looks like you're in a spot of trouble."

The older man responded "You have a very keen eye, sir."

Thomas smiled at this comment. He was no stranger to sarcasm. In fact, he rather enjoyed it. "Well, would you allow me to follow with an insightful question?"

"Of course."

"Have you considered turning around?"

"Yes," the other man spoke up "but the road is too shallow on both sides. It is likely that the carriage would tip should we try it."

It didn't look like they hit the tree or had come to a hard stop but Thomas asked the question anyways. "Is everyone alight?"

The older gentleman spoke. "No, I'm afraid not. This whole incident has really put a burden on my wife's poor nerves. I'm sure you can hear her making a fuss in the carriage."

Thomas could hear her in the carriage. Lots of "Ohhh!" and "My poor nerves!" and "Your father is going to get himself killed and then we will all be ruined!"

Thomas laughed a bit "Yes, it is very obvious to me now. You must get her home and quickly. Do you have any ideas? Can we just move the tree?"

The young man answered. "We tried but it was too heavy for just the two of us. But with you here now, we should be able to lift it. It's still going to be quite heavy."

So the three men took up positions along the tree and on the count of three lifted. It was heavy. Thankfully it was not a very large tree. With him, they were able to move it and drop it off the side of the road. Thomas exhaled, he'd been holding in his breath. Rubbing his hands of any dirt, the older gentle said to him "We were lucky you came along or else we might have had to change our address. We would have not been going anywhere for a while."

"You are quite welcome, is your home very far then?"

"No, but..." before the man could finish, a woman emerged from the car. Based on her age, 40's or so, Thomas guessed this was the man's wife. She spoke and her voice was unmistakable of the one that came from the car only moments before.

"Thank you, sir! You are very kind. We would have been stuck here all night had you not come. I have always said that no where can match the kind manners of those that live in the country. For, were we stuck in the city, we would have been walked around by everyone that should see us. Still it was most infuriating that we should have been stuck here. That terrible storm last night, I knew something like this would happen. I would have like to take the longer way home; there are fewer trees along that route you see. It is unfortunate that you couldn't have gotten here sooner. You, sir, are new to town? I have not seen you before and I know most that live here. By chance," her eyebrows sort of popped "are you Mr. Bingley?" Now her head was slightly crooked and she had a wide smile on her face.

Thomas looked over at the old man who was staring at his wife. He had a disappointed look on his face. Thomas thought it fit him. He looked back at the woman who was still waiting anxiously. "I'm afraid to disappoint you, but I am not." The woman's smile quickly went away. She was definitely disappointed. Thomas could not help but smile.

"Well…" The woman seemed to be searching for something to say. Her eyes were looking toward the road perhaps hoping to find the words written in the dirt. Suddenly they sprang back up toward him. "But you are new to town?"

"Yes, I just moved into Purvis Lodge."

"Oh, that's…. a nice house. I knew the owner before you; he was such a nice man. He usually kept to himself. No children or any family to speak of. Sometimes we would see him at balls but he never danced with anyone. He really should have tried finding someone."

"The man was 82." The older gentle said to his wife.

So, is an 82 year old not allowed to marry? It seems to me that an 82 year old would have many advantages over that of a younger man. Maybe he would have lived longer too had he gotten married."

The older gentlemen began wondering if being unmarried could explain his old age.

"Really though, he should have died earlier than he did."

"Why was he sick?"

"Oh, no, but had he then maybe we could of gotten another young gentlemen, such as yourself, here much sooner."

Thomas looked back to the old man who gave him a small nod that seemed to say "Yes, this is really how she is." The lady had been talking for a while now and Thomas was eager to continue on to Meryton. "It was very nice to meet you and your family, Mr…" Thomas searched his brain "I don't think we ever exchanged names. My name is Thomas, uh, Thomas Tipp"

"Ah, we had almost escaped you or maybe you almost us."

The woman began again before the older man could continue his thought. "I am Mrs. Bennet, that is Mr. Bennet," She said kind of waving him off like he wasn't important" and in the carriage you can see 4 of my girls, Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. I also have another daughter, Elizabeth, she is off getting lost somewhere, no doubt we shall never see here again. But they are all very excited to meet Mr. Bingley at the upcoming ball. Will you being attending?"

"Yes, I will be there." Thomas was having a hard time keeping up with Mrs. Bennet. He'd hardly finished when she started up again.

"I hope you like a good dance, Mr. Tripp. I'd say you should rarely find such pleasant company or as pretty as partners as you will here." She indicated towards her daughters who were still sitting in the car. She meant it to be a subtle hint but it came off pretty blatant. He could see the daughters watching, smiling, and sometimes laughing. They must have been able to hear their mother. The oldest looked a tad embarrassed.

Mr. Bennet could only roll his eyes. "Yes, if you have a penchant for very silly girls you could hardly have come to a better place." Mrs. Bennet did not appreciate this comment. But Thomas was even more eager to leave now. He had no desire to start courting anyone and feared what questions Mrs. Bennet might ask next.

"Well, I really should be going. I'm sure you and your family are eager to head home."

"Yes, you are right. It's so humid out today. We really should be inside." Mrs. Bennet would have talked more but her husband interrupted her and convinced her to get back in the carriage.

"You'll forgive my wife. She tends to talk very openly with strangers. Thank you again, Mr. Tripp. You are headed to Meryton, correct?"

Thomas nodded in the affirmative.

"Should you see my daughter Elizabeth on your way, tell her that we have gone back home. She went to go look for some help just before you came. She shouldn't be too far ahead of you. She is a good walker, but she tends to dillydally a lot. You'll probably catch up with her." Thomas doubted that. After he first began, he'd been walking quickly, but after almost 2 and and half hours his pace had really slowed.

"Should I see her I will be sure to tell her."

"Shouldn't be hard to spot her, she'll be the only young lady walking around by herself." With that, Mr. Bennet reentered the carriage and it pulled away. Two of the younger looking girls waved at Thomas through the back window and he waved back. "What an odd family" he thought.

Thomas turned around and again started walking towards Meryton. About a half an hour would pass when Thomas noticed a dark shape in front of him. At first he couldn't make out what it was, but it was moving. As he got closer he saw that it was someone walking. He figured it was probably the man's daughter still looking for help.

He finally got close enough to see that it was in fact a woman. This all but confirmed who it was for him. She definitely seemed to be enjoying her walk, if you could even call it a walk. She kept running from one side of the road to the other, picking follows or stepping in puddles. Thomas had no idea how he'd caught up with her. She seemed to have endless energy. Not something he could claim. His breathing had started to become a bit labored after the second hour of walking. She stopped for a moment, he suspected that she had seen him, and began walking on the road again, this time without veering from it.

She was a very good walker. She was beginning to create distance between herself and Thomas. He was already tired and didn't feel like increasing his speed to catch her. So he simply called out her name. "Miss Bennet?!" At this, she stopped and turned out. Thomas waved to her and she started walking towards him. Thomas wondered how he should handle this. He'd never been sure whether one should start talking while they're still walking towards the other person or whether they should wait until they're close. He decided he wait until they were closer but not too close. It's weird just walking towards a person without saying anything, especially when they're staring at you and from so far a distance. He didn't want that feeling to last too long.

"You are Elizabeth Bennet?"

"Yes, I confess I am."

They both came to a stop a few yards from each other.

"Did my father send you?"

"Well, not really. He said you were down this way and, should I see you, to tell you that your family was headed back home. That was about a half an hour ago so I'm sure they've arrived by now."

"They were able to move the tree then? I hope my father didn't strain himself"

"He's fine. The three of us were able to move it fairly easily."

Content with that, Elizabeth's began a familiar line a questioning. "You are new to Hertfordshire?"

Thomas smiled and nodded "Yes, I am new to Hertfordshire." He knew what was coming next.

"Are you Mr. Tripp?" Or maybe he didn't.

"No, I-wait, yes, I am Mr. Tripp".

Elizabeth's eyebrows rose "You seem unsure."

"No, Mr. Tripp. I'm definitely Mr. Tripp. You just caught me off guard. I thought you were going to ask if I was Bingley."

"There have been a few descriptions being passed around of what Mr. Bingley looks like. You don't fit any of them."

"Oh, that makes sense. What are they saying then?"

"I don't remember all the particulars. One of them says he has curly, light blond hair and can hardly be found without a smile. The other has him with thick, bright orange hair and light blue eyes."

"Maybe they're both right."

Elizabeth shook her head "How could that be?"

"Maybe he's just fond of wigs."

That seemed to catch her unprepared. She laughed more than she probably meant too, and she didn't laugh much anyways. Really it was only a quick chuckle and even saying that is being generous. Still Thomas was pleased with himself. He always thought he was funny, even if his siblings and most of his friends thought otherwise. It was then that Elizabeth noticed that there was no carriage in sight. "You do live at Purvis Lodge?"

"Yeah."

"You were headed to town?"

"That's right."

"Purvis Lodge, that's nearly 6 miles from here and Meryton must be at least another two! You were going to walk 8 miles there and another 8 back?"

"Well, I hadn't realized it was so far. I was about to turn back when I saw you."

"My friend Charlotte Lucas lives nearby, that's where I was heading before you stopped me. Her father loves meeting new people in society. If you were to ask, I'm sure he would call on his carriage for you."

Thomas considered saying no, but then he looked at his pant legs, the bottoms of which were covered in dust from the road. Then he brushed his hair with his hand, it was a bit sweaty. So he decided to consent to the idea. "That sounds like a fine idea. But, tell me first, what's Mr. Lucas like?"

"Sir."

"What?"

"It's Sir Lucas."

"Well, I didn't think he was a lady."

Elizabeth gave Thomas a confused look. Thomas then realized what she meant. "Oh, he's knighted. That's what you meant."

Elizabeth just smiled and nodded.

"Really," Thomas said "I'm only as stupid as I look and nothing more, I swear."


End file.
